http://www.lifesitenews.com/blog/obama-is-re-elected-now-is-the-time-for-prayer-not-anger-or-negativity
http://www.lifesitenews.com/news/how-do-we-respond-to-president-obamas-re-election/
Wednesday, September 11, 2013
The American Government
When you read the title of this post, what popped into your mind? Taxes? Money? Dishonest Politicians? In this post I'm going to relate my beliefs about the Government based on Scripture references that I will cite.
The American Government
"Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgement on themselves." Romans 13:1-2
"This is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God's servants, who give their full time governing. Give everyone what you owe his: if you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor." Romans 13:6-7
Submission (dictionary definition) n. 1) the act of submitting, yielding, or surrendering 2) the quality or condition of being submissive; resignation; obedience; meekness
Submit (dictionary definition) 1) to present or refer to others for decision, consideration, etc. 2) to uield to the power, control, etc. of another or others; give in.
Because, as it says in Romans 13:1-2, all authorities are established and instituted by God, we are to submit. Submission requires yielding and surrendering. My belief is that this type of submission requires humility and respect toward these authorities. In practical application, I think this means:
The American Government
"Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgement on themselves." Romans 13:1-2
"This is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God's servants, who give their full time governing. Give everyone what you owe his: if you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor." Romans 13:6-7
Submission (dictionary definition) n. 1) the act of submitting, yielding, or surrendering 2) the quality or condition of being submissive; resignation; obedience; meekness
Submit (dictionary definition) 1) to present or refer to others for decision, consideration, etc. 2) to uield to the power, control, etc. of another or others; give in.
Because, as it says in Romans 13:1-2, all authorities are established and instituted by God, we are to submit. Submission requires yielding and surrendering. My belief is that this type of submission requires humility and respect toward these authorities. In practical application, I think this means:
- praying for them (see a later point)
- not ranting/complaining about them or their actions
- respecting them
- not making jokes/fun of them/mocking them
"Put away perversity from your mouth; keep corrupt talk for from your lips." Proverbs 4:24
Corrupt (dictionary definition) 2) a) morally unsound or debased; perverted; evil; depraved
What if our governing authorities are not governing Biblically? What if Obama is not a Christian?
Pray for them
"I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession, and thanksgiving be made for everyone - for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good and pleases God our Savior." 1 Timothy 2:1-3
- requests be made for all those in authority
- ask God to give them wisdom/guidance
- prayers/intercession be made for all those in authority
- Intercession (dictionary definition) the act of interceding; meditation, pleading, or prayer in behalf of another or others
- thanksgiving be made for all those in authority
Their Christian Walk is not ours to judge. It is between them and God.
- Proverbs 5:21 - God knows and examines their ways
- Romans 14:12 - we will give our account to God
- 1 Corin. 4:5 - God will judge
- 2 Corin 5:10 - We will all appear before God
We all fall short. Nobody's perfect.
- Romans 3:23
What is corruption in the Government is leading the world astray, quickening the downfall of human civilization?
"But mark this: there will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God." 2 Timothy 3:1-4
"Jesus answered 'watch out that no one deceives you. For many will come in my name, claiming, "I am the Christ," and will deceive many. You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places." Matthew 24:4-7
- The world will go astray before the end of the age, be it because of or in spite of the government
- The time is already known
- "No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but nly the Father." Matthew 24:36
Conclusion: the government may govern and lead unbiblically, but the timeline of the world and the victory at the end is already seen and known by God. Our command is to pray for, thank God for, and submit to governing authorities.
*the end of the world verses lead to another Bible point that's been working around in my brain... maybe that will be a future post :)
Song Writing, Song Listening, and Song Discerning
Song Writing, Song Listening, and Song Discerning.
For the past few months my brain has been under construction in this area. What to listen to, what to write, and what makes a song good or bad. My entire life up to now I have listened to mainly Christian popular music (for example, Casting Crowns, Chris Tomlin, Third Day, ZoeGirl).
Recently, though, I have been examining the areas of song writing, song listening, and song discerning. This basically boils down to a few main points:
1. Song Writing: when I write songs, am I simply putting together words that sound good and rhyme or am I really meaning every single thing I say?
2. Song Listening: are the songs that I listen to theologically sound? As Keith Getty said “what we sing becomes the grammar of what we believe”. (Huyser-Honig, 2006) Are the songs that I listen to what I want my spiritual grammar to be?
3. Song Discerning: what makes a song good/bad? What are my standards in terms of acceptable words/messages in songs? Should I only listen to Christian music or clean secular music too? What is the difference in Christian music between praise/worship songs and life lesson songs?
So, here goes my attempt to pour my thoughts out onto paper (or in this case, my laptop keyboard). I’ll begin with Song Writing.
Song Writing
For the past few months my brain has been under construction in this area. What to listen to, what to write, and what makes a song good or bad. My entire life up to now I have listened to mainly Christian popular music (for example, Casting Crowns, Chris Tomlin, Third Day, ZoeGirl).
Recently, though, I have been examining the areas of song writing, song listening, and song discerning. This basically boils down to a few main points:
1. Song Writing: when I write songs, am I simply putting together words that sound good and rhyme or am I really meaning every single thing I say?
2. Song Listening: are the songs that I listen to theologically sound? As Keith Getty said “what we sing becomes the grammar of what we believe”. (Huyser-Honig, 2006) Are the songs that I listen to what I want my spiritual grammar to be?
3. Song Discerning: what makes a song good/bad? What are my standards in terms of acceptable words/messages in songs? Should I only listen to Christian music or clean secular music too? What is the difference in Christian music between praise/worship songs and life lesson songs?
So, here goes my attempt to pour my thoughts out onto paper (or in this case, my laptop keyboard). I’ll begin with Song Writing.
Song Writing
I think that God has given be the ability to write lyrics and music. My belief is that God has given me this gift to be used to His glory, because in 1 Corinthians 10:31 it says “So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God”.
But with this gift comes hindrances. It’s very easy for me to pen a song, and given a paper and an idea, I can put down words to the entire song in 15 minutes. Rhyming and rhythm come easily to me. And there’s where the problem lies.
The ease of penning a song makes it easy to add in a line with the thought “It rhymes, it’s the right number of syllables, and it has a good Christian message” and overlook the fact that those things alone don’t give a line the right to be in a song. I always think of the song In Christ Alone by Keith Getty and Stuart Townend. Not one line of the song is “wasted” or undeserving of its position in the piece. Every line speaks boldly and when listening, you can tell that Getty wasn't missing a line of the verse and thought “this rhymes, has the right number of syllables, and it has a good Christian message.” No, you can tell that the songwriters knew what they were trying to say and said it in a concise, not a word wasted kind of way.
I think that when I write music, I need to write it the same way. So many times have I thrown in a line that was, in essence, “wasted”? That space in the song, that 10 seconds in the three minutes I have the listeners attention, was lost on something that may have rhymed and fit the rhythm, but wasn’t deeply and thoroughly thought out.
So I should be evaluating my every line of my every song and asking, “yes, it rhymes; yes, it fits the rhythm; yes, it has a nice Christian message; but does this line hit home the truth I’m trying to say with this song? Does this line alone have a meaning, a depth?” Because as a songwriter, I only have three to five minutes to hold my listeners ear and pour in the truth, and I don’t want to waste a line.
Song Listening
Ooh, here’s the one that’s been mainly on my mind - the issue of the lacking in most Contemporary Christian songs. For this section of thoughts I’d like to quote a bunch of articles I found online because they have put the words together in a great way to concisely say my thoughts.
“What we sing becomes the grammar of what we believe.” ~Keith Getty (Huyser-Honig, 2006)
Wow. I absolutely love this quote. This kinda sums up my thoughts about song listening. Some Contemporary Christian/worship songs are what I call “feel good” Christian songs for lack of a better name. They emphasize how wonderful we feel in God’s presence, how happy, peaceful, joyful we are, how we feel. They miss the point that I think should be in music: God. They focus too much on us. I think that if these are the songs we fill our minds with; this will be the grammar of what we believe. The reason we have a relationship with God is because He saved us, because of His great love, because He is our Hope. It’s not because we feel good when we’re with Him, but listening to a lot of songs like this can gradually slant our thoughts toward that purpose.
And here’s another Keith Getty quote about this: “I think it’s to the church’s poverty that the average worship song now has so few words, so little truth. [It] is so focused on several commercial aspects of God, like the fact that he loves our praises.” (Huyser-Honig, 2006)
Keith’s wife, Kristyn, makes another good point about modern worship music: “There is an unhelpful, casual sense that comes with some of the more contemporary music. It’s not how I would talk to God.” (Huyser-Honig, 2006)
Another point about this is “if the lyrics of a song can be equally applied to the crush of a 17-year-old girl as they can to Jesus, then we should seriously question it being used to point a group of believers’ collective hearts to God”. (Hurd, 2009) This goes with the whole “casual” sense in the music.
And I love this quote too: “Anyway, I began to wonder if part of the problem with modern worship music is that the deep things of God – faith in the unseen, hope in the re-creation of all things, the pervasive truth of the gospel, the mystery of God’s redemptive plan, the tension of already and not yet, etc. – don’t always rhyme.” (McClellan, 2010)
Song Discerning
This one is probably the longest, so I will attempt to summarize in a few points.
Works Cited
Hurd, S. ". (2009, 04 02). The Pitfalls of Worship Music. Retrieved 09 09, 2013, from Relevant: http://www.relevantmagazine.com/god/worship/features/16513-the-pitfalls-of-worship-music
Huyser-Honig, J. (2006, 09 01). Keith Getty on Writing Hymns for the Church Universal. Retrieved 09 10, 2013, from Calvin Institute of Christian Worship: http://worship.calvin.edu/resources/resource-library/keith-getty-on-writing-hymns-for-the-church-universal/
McClellan, S. (2010, 09 28). Part of the Problem With Modern Worship Music. Retrieved 09 09, 2013, from Echohub: http://echohub.com/posts/communication/part-of-the-problem-with-modern-worship-music/
But with this gift comes hindrances. It’s very easy for me to pen a song, and given a paper and an idea, I can put down words to the entire song in 15 minutes. Rhyming and rhythm come easily to me. And there’s where the problem lies.
The ease of penning a song makes it easy to add in a line with the thought “It rhymes, it’s the right number of syllables, and it has a good Christian message” and overlook the fact that those things alone don’t give a line the right to be in a song. I always think of the song In Christ Alone by Keith Getty and Stuart Townend. Not one line of the song is “wasted” or undeserving of its position in the piece. Every line speaks boldly and when listening, you can tell that Getty wasn't missing a line of the verse and thought “this rhymes, has the right number of syllables, and it has a good Christian message.” No, you can tell that the songwriters knew what they were trying to say and said it in a concise, not a word wasted kind of way.
I think that when I write music, I need to write it the same way. So many times have I thrown in a line that was, in essence, “wasted”? That space in the song, that 10 seconds in the three minutes I have the listeners attention, was lost on something that may have rhymed and fit the rhythm, but wasn’t deeply and thoroughly thought out.
So I should be evaluating my every line of my every song and asking, “yes, it rhymes; yes, it fits the rhythm; yes, it has a nice Christian message; but does this line hit home the truth I’m trying to say with this song? Does this line alone have a meaning, a depth?” Because as a songwriter, I only have three to five minutes to hold my listeners ear and pour in the truth, and I don’t want to waste a line.
Song Listening
Ooh, here’s the one that’s been mainly on my mind - the issue of the lacking in most Contemporary Christian songs. For this section of thoughts I’d like to quote a bunch of articles I found online because they have put the words together in a great way to concisely say my thoughts.
“What we sing becomes the grammar of what we believe.” ~Keith Getty (Huyser-Honig, 2006)
Wow. I absolutely love this quote. This kinda sums up my thoughts about song listening. Some Contemporary Christian/worship songs are what I call “feel good” Christian songs for lack of a better name. They emphasize how wonderful we feel in God’s presence, how happy, peaceful, joyful we are, how we feel. They miss the point that I think should be in music: God. They focus too much on us. I think that if these are the songs we fill our minds with; this will be the grammar of what we believe. The reason we have a relationship with God is because He saved us, because of His great love, because He is our Hope. It’s not because we feel good when we’re with Him, but listening to a lot of songs like this can gradually slant our thoughts toward that purpose.
And here’s another Keith Getty quote about this: “I think it’s to the church’s poverty that the average worship song now has so few words, so little truth. [It] is so focused on several commercial aspects of God, like the fact that he loves our praises.” (Huyser-Honig, 2006)
Keith’s wife, Kristyn, makes another good point about modern worship music: “There is an unhelpful, casual sense that comes with some of the more contemporary music. It’s not how I would talk to God.” (Huyser-Honig, 2006)
Another point about this is “if the lyrics of a song can be equally applied to the crush of a 17-year-old girl as they can to Jesus, then we should seriously question it being used to point a group of believers’ collective hearts to God”. (Hurd, 2009) This goes with the whole “casual” sense in the music.
And I love this quote too: “Anyway, I began to wonder if part of the problem with modern worship music is that the deep things of God – faith in the unseen, hope in the re-creation of all things, the pervasive truth of the gospel, the mystery of God’s redemptive plan, the tension of already and not yet, etc. – don’t always rhyme.” (McClellan, 2010)
Song Discerning
This one is probably the longest, so I will attempt to summarize in a few points.
- What makes a song good or bad? In my opinion, the message, the theme, and the morals that the song promotes. I evaluate this by asking some questions like
- "If I had kids, would I want them listening to this?”
- “Does this song line up with the Bible?”
- “Does this song promote things that are pleasing to God?” – here it comes down to WWJD and What Would Jesus Listen To :)
- What are my standards in terms of acceptable words/messages in songs? I’m pretty strict about this. Because of the huge number of songs available to listen to, I’m willing to enforce my “rules”. Definitely no bad words or messages about things like living while we’re young, breakups, certain love songs, etc. Bad words for me includes some words that have found their way into the average American vocabulary – that sucks, stupid, and others.
- Should I only listen to Christian music or clean secular music too? I haven’t yet determined this. I think that clean secular music is fine, and I place it in a similar category as Christian music that has a positive message about your worth, or your purpose – basically any Christian music other than worship. However, I definitely see a value in listening to this kind of Christian music over secular music.
- What is the difference in Christian music between praise/worship songs and life lesson songs? Sort of as I stated in the last point – I put “life lesson” songs like songs about encouragement, value, and belief in a similar category as clean secular music. I think this type of Christian music contains good songs, and has value in encouragement, teaching us about life and faith, and helping us in our Christian walk.
Works Cited
Hurd, S. ". (2009, 04 02). The Pitfalls of Worship Music. Retrieved 09 09, 2013, from Relevant: http://www.relevantmagazine.com/god/worship/features/16513-the-pitfalls-of-worship-music
Huyser-Honig, J. (2006, 09 01). Keith Getty on Writing Hymns for the Church Universal. Retrieved 09 10, 2013, from Calvin Institute of Christian Worship: http://worship.calvin.edu/resources/resource-library/keith-getty-on-writing-hymns-for-the-church-universal/
McClellan, S. (2010, 09 28). Part of the Problem With Modern Worship Music. Retrieved 09 09, 2013, from Echohub: http://echohub.com/posts/communication/part-of-the-problem-with-modern-worship-music/
Before the construction begins...
I'd like to establish the worldview that I am coming from. I know it's kind of long, but if you're interesting in reading it and you have the time, this will give you the background information about where I'm coming from when I post on this blog.
I believe that God is Almighty and over everything in the Earth. He loves us all more than we could ever comprehend (John 3:16). As His children, it is our job to serve, love, praise, and bring glory to Him (1 Corin. 10:31). When this task is accomplished, if we believe in Him, we will go to live with Him in Heaven forever. As David Livingstone wrote, “I am immortal till my work is accomplished.” When we are finished on this earth, God will bring us home, and not sooner.
Though sometimes it may be hard to determine right or wrong, we can always turn to God’s Word for guidance. God is love, so to be like God, we must be like love. In 1 Corin. 13 it says that Love is patient, kind, does not envy or boast, is not proud, rude, self seeking, or easily angered. Love does not keep record of people’s wrongs, it does not delight in evil, but it rejoices in the Truth.
The difference between right and wrong is shown in this passage. If the question is to do something for others or yourself, then you can turn to “love is not self seeking.” If the question involves anger or holding a grudge, this passage can answer it. It also answers questions about pride, respect, patience, and our attitude toward others.
A worldview is how someone looks at and interprets the world. It includes the beliefs used to do this. My worldview is through the Bible. You’ve heard the expression “looking at the world through rose colored glasses”. As Christians we should look at the world through the glasses of Christ. A life lived with this view will look a lot different than a life lived by the ways of the world. The world will be able to see a difference in the person living by Christ’s standards. They will shine as a light in the darkness. As it says in Daniel 12:3, “Those who are wise will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars for ever and.” Wisdom comes from the Lord.
The things that I believe shape the way I live. If I did not know Jesus, I am sure that I would not pay as much attention to wrong and right, loving, patience, and kindness. As a child of Christ, I am learning new Truths and being led in wisdom. If I was not a Christian, seeking wisdom and gaining understanding would not be as high priorities, if priorities at all.
Everyone’s beliefs are influenced by someone or something. The biggest influences on my worldview come from the Bible, my parents, and the church I belong to (along with the pastors of that church).The world wants to influence all of our worldviews. It wants to make us look at things with criticism, hate, anger, and love of wealth, power, and sin. As Christians it is completely necessary to be grounded in our beliefs, to believe them with our whole hearts, and to stand firm in them, for as it says in Isaiah 7:9, “If you do not stand firm in your faith, you will not stand at all.”
My worldview shapes the way I see the world. It also shapes the way I see the government. Many Christians have a sour taste in their mouths about government, thinking that everything the government does is bad in some way. People make jokes about the government, portraying it in a negative light. In Romans 13:1 it tells us “Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God.”
As Christians we need to honor the government and not put them down by harping on their mistakes. All humans make mistakes, just as you or I would in a position of authority. Dishonoring the government by putting them down is disobedient to God. In Romans Paul tells us to be subject to the authorities.
My worldview is shaped around the teachings of the Bible. I believe that God is the Almighty creator and that it is our job to worship and bring glory to Him in all that we do. We must stand firm in our faith and in our worldview so that it does not become the view of the world. We need to honor the government as an authority placed over us by God.
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